Moong Dal Frittata/Lentil Egg Bake (gluten-free)

This moong dal Egg Bake is a hearty, protein-rich, savory breakfast that comes together in one pan! Lentil Egg Batter is packed with herbs, veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, and amazing flavor to make a fantastic, satisfying omelette!

Moong dal, which are small yellow lentils, or green moong beans with the skin removed and split, is a great substitute for making an egg-like batter. You can use these lentils to make omelettes, egg patties, omelettes, baked eggs or even scrambled eggs. This baked lentil frittata is versatile and delicious and a great option if you don’t want to make a frittata/omelette with chickpea flour (which may taste bitter to some).

I have several savory breakfast options that use lentils, mung beans/moong dal and gram flour as an egg substitute. You can try my moong bean omelette, gram flour omelette, gram flour omelette and moong egg sandwich.

If you don’t have moong dal, it is easily available online on Amazon or in Indian stores. Many stores also ship. If you really can’t find them you can use split red lentils, but the flavor will be slightly different. Many different lentil and chickpea flours can work here, but each of these has a slightly different flavor and texture. Play around with them, try my other recipes and decide which batter you like best for which application.

These omelets, omelettes and egg patty-like dishes prepared with these different lentils have been present in Indian cuisine for a long time. They’re just called different things and use slightly different spices. For a more egg-like flavor and texture, we add a little kala namak, which is Indian sulfur salt. If you don’t have it, just omit it. If you can find some, they’re great for adding that extra eggy flavor to vegan egg dishes like this lentil omelette.

This lentil omelette is also quite high in protein. There are proteins from Moong Dal, proteins from some crumbled tofu that we add to it and proteins from some cashews or hemp seeds that we use to make batter, as well as some nutritional yeast. All this protein makes for a filling and satisfying breakfast!

If you want to make it soy-free, omit the tofu, or you can replace it with chickpea flour tofu or white beans. If you don’t want to add nutritional yeast you can omit that too.

Why you’ll love this Moong Baked Egg

• Abundant vegan breakfast, rich in proteins and savory
• cooks in a single pan
• very little active cooking time
• super tasty and easy to prepare
• naturally gluten-free with easy soy-free and nut-free options

Ingredients and substitutions

• Dried moong dal – Split and peeled green beans or small yellow lentils. This is the base for your omelette batter.
• salt and spices – You will season the batter with garlic powder, onion powder, kala namak and black pepper. Kala namak gives it an eggy flavor, but you can omit it if you can’t find it. Season the vegetables with smoked paprika, thyme, salt and pepper and sprinkle a little black pepper on top before cooking the lentil omelette.
• baking powder – Helps the omelette become fluffy.
• nutritional yeast – Adds umami and is optional.
• cashews – Adds richness. If you prefer you can use hemp or pumpkin seeds. Or you can omit nuts and seeds altogether and use non-dairy milk instead of water (add 2 teaspoons of oil to the batter when mixing if using non-dairy milk).
• water or broth – Adds moisture to egg batter.
• oil – You jumped.
• vegetables – You will roast the mushrooms, peppers and onion before adding the batter to the pan. Along with the batter, you will mix in sun-dried tomatoes, green onion, and baby spinach.
• tofu – Adds texture and more protein. Omit or use chickpea tofu if you don’t want to use soy. Or add some cooked beans
• vegan parmesan – For garnish.

How to make a Moong Dal Omelette

Wash the moong dal once or twice and soak it in cool, lukewarm water for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Drain the soaked moong dal and add it to a blender. Add salt, garlic powder, onion powder, kala namak, black pepper, yeast, nutritional yeast, cashews and water. Blend for 1 minute, then let the mixture rest to rehydrate the cashews for 2 or 3 minutes, then blend again for half a minute until the mixture is perfectly smooth. You may need to do another round of blending, depending on your blender. If the mixture is too thick you can add a spoonful or more of water and blend again.

Preheat the oven to 205°C (400°F) and line a 9×11-inch baking pan with baking paper. Evenly distribute most of the peppers, mushrooms and onions in the baking dish. Drizzle with oil, then mix together the smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and sprinkle over all the vegetables. Toss to coat, including vegetables with a spatula and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Reserve a third of the mushroom and pepper mixture in a bowl. Add the crumbled tofu, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and green onions to the pan.

Pour the moong dal batter all over the pan. Mix lightly and smooth the top. Top with the reserved mushrooms, peppers and onions. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan and black pepper.

Bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the center is set by testing with a toothpick. If it is not ready, let it cook for a few more minutes, then test again. When it is completely solidified, remove the omelette from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before removing it from the pan using the baking paper.

Cut and serve. You can serve this omelette warm or cold. You can serve with a side of sourdough with vegan butter, hot sauce or vegan eggs Benedict. Or you can make sandwiches with it, because it’s a bit like an egg tart.

What to Serve with a Moong Dal Omelette

You can serve it as part of a breakfast of potatoes and toasted sourdough. This also makes a great filling for a vegan breakfast sandwich piled on your favorite bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, vegan mayo or hummus, vegan bacon, roasted red pepper, etc. It’s also delicious topped with vegan hollandaise sauce!